03 August 2010

Troy Eid Rips Doug Lamborn

Troy Eid is one of the rising stars in the Republican party and was the U.S. Attorney for Colorado during the Bush Administration. In an op-ed in the Denver Post, he explains his effort to pass the Tribal Law and Order Act that expands the jurisdiction of tribal courts (thereby reducing the federal caseload and increasing local control) and requiring federal prosecutors to explain their decisions not to prosecute major crimes upon request.

Dorgan introduced his legislation with bipartisan support, including Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and other conservatives. We were encouraged when it passed the Senate unanimously in June.

Suddenly we faced opposition from some House Republicans, including Rep. Doug Lamborn, the Colorado Springs Republican, who attacked the bill on budget grounds — even though it doesn't require new spending or appropriate funds. So I went to Washington as a volunteer to urge the House Republican leadership to support it.

Much of the opposition was election-year politics: Republicans didn't want a victory for the other party. But we pushed hard and the bill passed 326-92 with the two-thirds margin needed to avoid a conference committee, which would have delayed the bill and likely killed it.

Colorado Republicans have experienced our share of tribulations lately. The Tribal Law and Order Act is a reminder that Republicans would have fewer worries if we focused less on scoring partisan points and more on advancing our own principles. That includes respect for law and order, making the bureaucracy leaner and more accountable, and freeing all Americans from federal command-and-control policies.

Fortunately, 78 House Republicans saw it that way. Our nation will be safer as a result.

Meanwhile, Professor Bainbridge, a conservative who is the leading apologist for the argument that corporate executives should not be subject to serious shareholder oversight has likewise called out the Republican party primarily for their racism, nativism, anti-intellectualism, enlargement of the federal deficit and unjustified hawkishness.